Jessica Ho is leading the VITA program, which uses IRS-trained volunteers to prepare tax returns for families earning less than $57,000 a year. / Mark Zaleski / The Tennessean

Written by

Jaquetta White

The Tennessean

Season to give

Tennessean reporters are profiling 10 charities for the annual Season to Give series, an effort to help Middle Tennesseans in need during the holiday season. Stories will run each Sunday and Wednesday through Christmas. Featured organizations are partner agencies of the United Way of Metropolitan Nashville.

How to help

SEASON TO GIVE

Last tax season, households earning low to moderate income in Middle Tennessee left about $25 million in unclaimed tax refunds on the table.

The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, an 8-year-old partnership between the United Way of Metropolitan Nashville and the Internal Revenue service, is hoping to make a dent in that number this year.

The program offers free tax preparation assistance to households with an annual combined income of less than $57,000. It is intended, primarily, to help those households take full advantage of the earned income tax credit, a benefit for working people with low or moderate income.

“It puts money into people’s pockets who desperately need it,” said Eric Dewey, president and chief executive officer of the United Way of Metropolitan Nashville.

The program also aims to direct people away from costly tax preparation services and to help them establish stronger financial footing.

Last year, 10,000 families used VITA, which operates offices throughout Middle Tennessee during the 12-week tax season. They received a combined $17.1 million in refunds, or just under $2,000 per household on average.

“Two thousand dollars for a family that’s one car repair away from trouble is meaningful money,” United Way board chairwoman Margaret Dolan said.

There is an opportunity to reach even more people, particularly those who either don’t file taxes or don’t properly file for the earned income tax credit, said Tracey Dill, associate director of financial stability and community impact for the United Way.

This tax season, there will be 17 Volunteer Income Tax Assistance sites in Davidson County and 30 throughout Middle Tennessee. Two new “super sites” in Antioch and Madison, which will feature longer hours and have the capacity to serve more people than the traditional sites, will be open this year as well, said Jessica Ho, manager of the Nashville Alliance for Financial Independence, the United Way initiative that oversees the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program. Ho said the program is hopeful it can reach 12,000 people this year — 2,000 more than last year.

The local United Way office began its partnership with the IRS in 2004, enveloping several organizations throughout Tennessee that had been offering free tax preparation services. Since 2004, the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program has helped working individuals and families file more than 100,000 tax returns, resulting in $161 million in tax refunds, according to the United Way.

Some program participants, United Way officials said, have used the money as a first step toward improving their finances. Each VITA location also includes access to other United Way programs that promote financial stability, including one-on-one budgeting sessions, credit report counseling and lessons on money management.

“It’s much more than ‘I’m going to get my taxes taken care of,’ ” said Erica Mitchell, the organization’s director of community impact. “It’s really a financial education piece that leads toward financial stability.”

Although tax season doesn’t begin until January, the United Way is currently recruiting volunteers for this year’s effort, which runs for 12 weeks through April. The organization is hoping to recruit 400 people, double last year’s number.

The largest need is for tax preparers, but the organization also needs greeters and site coordinators. Tax preparation experience isn’t necessary because everyone receives a three- to 12-hour training session that, for tax preparers, results in an IRS certification.